Not My Will, But Yours Be Done (21 Oct 2018)

Have you been disappointed in school, when you did not get into the course that you wish to study but was allocated another course? Or you have applied for a job which you think was the most ideal one, but end up not getting it? I’m sure most of us will have our personal preferences in our pursuits, but sometimes when we did not get it, we become dejected and start asking God. Likewise in our service to God, with good intentions, we would like to do certain things for Him, but the Lord say no or do something else.

In 1 Chronicles 17:1-15, King David was facing a similar situation as the above. He loved the Lord and was troubled when he lived in a beautiful palace of cedar, while the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of the Lord’s presence, was in a tent. Though he wanted to replace the tent with the building of the temple, the Lord through the prophet Nathan told David not to proceed with his plan (verse 3 & 4). The reason was God did not want David, who was a man of war, to build His temple (1 Chronicles 22:8-10) but the honour of building it would go to David’s son, Solomon.

Though David’s desire was noble as he wanted to honour God, God was sovereign as He had the right to decide who and when to build the temple. David responded by allowing God’s sovereignty to override his decision. God further rewarded David where He promised him that his dynasty will last forever. Though we are aware that David’s descendants did not follow God’s laws and were taken from the Promised Land into captivity, through the son of Jesse, David came our Lord Jesus Christ who will occupy his throne forever.

What can we learn from the above passage? Just like David, we sometimes have good intentions in our Christian service, where we want to serve in a particular area that we are comfortable or familiar in. However, we may face situations that our plan may not be God’s best plan for us as we may be called to perform service that we are not best equipped in. Given this situation, what would our response be? Are we prepared to be like David to accept God’s better plan for our lives and allow His will to override ours? May we challenge ourselves and pray that not my will, but Yours be done.

 

Brother Leo Deng Yong